Setting Goals

As business owners or company leaders, I’m sure you have experience with goal setting. We all know it is important, but do we really give it the time and attention it deserves? Do we use these goals actively to guide our work throughout the year?

Many of us know that our goals should be SMART! This is a great acronym to keep us focused on developing solid goals.

The goal should be Specific. As you develop your goal, really get a vision of what you are trying to achieve with this goal. Keep drilling into your vision until you come up with something very specific. Go for the detail on this visualization. What the mind cannot visualize, it cannot achieve!

Your goal should be Measurable – what metrics will you use to track your goal and determine if you have succeeded? You need tangible evidence of completion. This can include short-term or smaller measurements if appropriate to gauge progress throughout the time period.

Goals need to be Achievable. They should be challenging, with a touch of realism! Doubling revenue in a year is likely not achievable if the most revenue has increased has been 25%. You need to ensure you have (or can acquire) the knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve the goal.

R stands for Relevant. Is this goal relevant to moving your business forward? Will achieving this goal fundamentally add to the success of your business? This step ensures that you are picking a goal that actually matters. Goals are relevant when they align with or support other goals.

Finally, the T stands for Time-bound. Our goals must have a deadline – a target date for completion. Solidifying a goal in a time-bound deadline establishes a sense of urgency and importance that helps them from being overtaken by the normal day-to-day fires that seem to pop up in an organization. Setting mini timelines along the way to the ultimate completion helps even more.

Developing a set of SMART goals is wonderful. But wait, there’s more…!

Once your goals are set, you need to be flexible. As you are working on your goals, sometime events occur or situations arise which might require adjustment. It is important to take the time to re-assess your goals against what has arisen. Is it still relevant? Is it still achievable given the disruption or change? Don’t be afraid to make the tweaks and changes that will keep you moving forward and setting you up for success!

Take the time to develop a set of SMART goals for the year – keep them in a visible place so they stay top of mind, and make a habit on checking in on your goals once a week at a minimum!